university of hawai’i windward community college...dr. joseph ciotti (principle investigator) dr....

Post‐Launch Assessment Review

Windward Community College – University of Hawaii 2011 – 2012

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University of Hawai’i Windward Community College

University Student Launch Initiative 2011-2012

Post-Launch Assessment Review

(PLAR)



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Table of Contents

1.0 Team Summary…………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 2.0 Launch Vehicle Summary…………………………………………………………………...... 3

2.1 Rocket Mass …………………………………………………………………………….... 3 2.2 Brief Payload Descriptions………………………………………………………… 3 2.3 Rocket Overview………………………………………………………………………... 4

3.0 Vehicle Data Summary, Data Analysis & Results of Payload………………… 3

3.1 Altitude Reached (Feet)……………………………………………………………… 3 3.2 Flight Profile………………………………………………………………………………. 5 3.3 Analysis.………………………………………….………………………………………….. 6 3.4 Altitude and Acceleration Graph ……………………………………………….. 9

4.0 Scientific Value……………………………………………………………………………………... 10 4.1 CanSat………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 4.2 ARLISS………………………………………………………………………………………... 10 4.3 Curriculum Development ………………………………………………………….. 10 4.4 High School Science Fair…………………………………………………………….. 10

4.5 AStRID………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 4.6 Walter………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 5.0 Summary of Overall Experience & Lessons Learned…………………………….. 11 5.1 Students……………………………………………………………………………………… 11 5.2 Team Official………………………………………………………………………………. 15 5.3 Students Continuing On………………………………………………………………. 16 6.0 Educational Engagement Summary………………………………………………………. 16 7.0 Budget Summary…………………………………………………………………………………… 18 7.1.1 Rocket Cost…………………………………………………………………………………. 18 7.1.2 Avionics and Electronics Cost……………………………………………………… 18 7.2 Payload Cost ……………………………………………………………………………….. 19

7.2.1 AStRID…………………………………………………………………………………………. 19 7.2.2 Walter…………………………………………………………………………………………. 19 7.3 Total Cost……………………………………………………………………………………. 19

7.4 Travel Cost………………………………………………………………………………….. 20



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1.0 Team Summary University of Hawai’i – Windward Campus Hale ‘Imiloa

45‐720 Kea’ahala Rd. Kane’ohe Hawai’i 96744

Dr. Joseph Ciotti (Principle Investigator) Dr. Jacob Hudson (Team Official) Dr. Greg Wittemen (Payload Mentor) Helen Rapozo (IT Specialist) Kristi Ross Todd Esposito Patrick Lancaster Rose Wailehua Lyra Hancock Sean Aylward Jasmine Maru Darren Ramos

2.0 Launch Vehicle Summary Rocket Name: Leo Hano The team rocket is 127.13 inches in length, with a 6” diameter The rocket used an L1500T 98mm Aerotech motor Dual deployment recovery system incorporating a 42” drogue deployed at apogee,

and a 144” main to be deployed at 2500’ altitude 2.1 Rocket Mass

Pad weight: 50 pounds 2.2 Brief payload descriptions

Our first payload AStRID (Arduino ScienTific Research Interactive Device) fulfilled the option two Science Mission Directorate payload. AStRID was designed to collect the altitude, humidity, pressure, ultraviolet light, visible light, and temperature. AStRID was also designed to take 5 orientated pictures: three on decent and two once the rocket landed. The AStRID data would be used to compare with the data collected from Walter. Because the components of this payload are very useful, we plan to keep the printed circuit board we made for this task for future projects.

Our second payload is a continuation of last year’s project, named Walter. Its

purpose is to determine the rocket’s orientation throughout the flight. It will have three perpendicular coils, each with its own parallel resistor. These coils will be wrapped around a sphere. This sphere will be of a material that does not produce or interfere with magnetic fields. As the rocket goes through its flight the payload will travel with the rocket through the Earth’s magnetic field. In doing so, an induced voltage will be produced, due to the interaction of the coils as they travel through the Earth’s magnetic field. Data will be



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collected concerning the voltage fluctuations for the three coils. Since the coils will be perpendicular to each other we will have data of voltage fluctuations in three dimensions (X, Y, and Z). This data can be used to determine the rocket’s orientation throughout the flight. 2.3 Rocket Overview

3.0 Vehicle Data Summary, Data Analysis & Results of Payload 3.1 Altitude Reached (Feet)

Average of 4,935



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3.2 Flight Profile



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3.3 Analysis: Conditions at the time of launch were less then ideal, and very near to

our ‘no-launch’ criteria. The launch temperatures were near 50 degrees Fahrenheit, with

wind gusts up to 15 miles per hour. Because of these conditions, it was decided that the

rocket would not reach the maximum altitude predicted with our VDC brake shoes in the

‘closed’ position. In fact, our calculations showed that with the VDC brake shoes not

deployed, the rocket would just make it to the desired altitude of one mile. For this flight

the drag shoes were closed.

The final pre-launch integration of the rocket had two main issues. The first issue

was to address the Hardware Punch-list. Our punch-list had two items that needed to be

addressed; the first was to replace two of our two-ton 20-foot shock tethers, and the

second was to mark our CG. AT the hardware inspection, the two offending tethers (the one

attaching the main chute to the top of our ejection piston, and the one attaching the bottom

of the ejection piston to the top bulkhead of the avionics section) had shown some

discoloration, and the inspecting officials recommended that those tethers be replaced.

Two new 20-foot tethers were purchased from Huff Performance Hobbies, and replaced

the old tethers. After a ‘hang’ test the CG was marked. The punch-list was passed, and the

rocket integration was continued. At this point in the rocket integration, a larger issue was

encountered. The ASTRID payload could not fit into the compartment that it was ‘designed’

to fit. During testing, communications between the ASTRID unit and the ground station

proved to be problematic. Shortly after the final design and testing, of ASTRID, it was

decided to purchase a bigger dipole antenna for the unit. The new antenna arrived shortly

before the team left for Huntsville, and it was decided that it would be tested before the

competition flight. With the new dipole antenna in place, stowing the ASTRID unit became

a major problem – there was no way to put ASTRID into its compartment and safely secure

the nosecone section in place without interfering with the main chute shroud lines. After

several attempts, and becoming aware of a rapidly approaching launch deadline, the team

decided to fly the Walter payload without ASTRID. The rest of the rocket integration went

without issue, and the rocket after passing the usual inspection hurdles, was taken to pad

#50.

The ascension of the rocket was as predicted; at ignition, the rocket quickly reached

safe exit rail velocity and travelled with minimal variance from vertical - despite the wind

gusts. Less then 4 seconds after ignition, at the predicted time, the motor went through

burn-out and began its coasting phase. The rocket reached a maximum speed of 614 feet

per second (418 mph), and traveled without incident to apogee. The maximum vertical

height was reached 15.3 seconds after burn-out. Despite the ground reading altitude of

5478 feet, the on-board PerfectFlight MAWD indicated that the rocket reached a maximum

altitude of 4894 feet, while the Feather Weight Raven indicated a maximum height of 4975



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feet. This corresponds to an average altitude of 4934.5 feet, a short fall of 345.5 feet, or -

6.54%.

Variations from expected occurred on the descent phase. At apogee, the 48-inch

drogue chute was deployed and the rocket began its rapid descent phase. The drogue

descent rate was determined to be 71 feet per second. Because the PerfectFlight MAWD

has a maximum main deployment altitude setting of 1700 feet, and it was desired that the

ASTRID payload was to be deployed at 2500 feet altitude, the Feather Weight Raven was

our primary avionics flight computer. At 2500 feet, the Raven set off the main chute pyro

charge, separating the nosecone containing the Walter device, and deploying the 12-foot

main chute. While the main chute was unfurling, the rocket descent speed decreased… for

~0.2 seconds. Once the main chute became fully deployed, the restraining drag force acting

on the rocket overcame the tensile strength of the new 20-foot shock tether attaching the

rocket to the main chute. The rocket continued its descent to ground under the drogue

chute, while the main chute, the associated quick-link and ~10 feet of tether cord, sailed

away. Whereas the rocket was recovered undamaged, the main chute (some say) still

hangs over down-town Huntsville to this day.



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During descent, and after the main chute had separated, the question of what

happened was energetically discussed. There were three people who had witnessed the

final integration, as well as to adherence to the pre-launch check-list, so there was no

question as to whether any connection had been over looked. Concern was focused on

whether the pyro charge had caused the tether attaching the piston to the avionics section

bulkhead to separate. Simply put, the question became; did we recover the piston? At the

recovery site, the piston and ~ 4 feet of tether were recovered, still attached (via the lower

tether) to the rocket. Upon closer inspection, we can see that the material is frayed at the

end, and we are sure that there had to be a flaw (possible seam?) in the fiber at the point

where it separated.

We were not able to directly recover the nosecone section containing the Walter

payload because of the wind-drift. The nosecone came down in an adjoining farm, and was

(thank-fully) returned to the team by the land-owners. When opened, it was found that the

micro-SD card for the Walter payload was no longer inserted. As such, the Walter unit

could store only ~8 seconds of data. Additionally, the Walter power supply, consisting of

two AA batteries, had become disconnected some time after lift-off. The main fault for this

was the improper use of the zip-tie that was to retain the batteries throughout the flight.

Because of this power loss, and since we have never recovered the micro-SD card, we

essentially have no usable Walter data.

Due to the main separation and no payload data we have to classify this flight as a

failure. We also experienced power issues with our ground station resulting in a loss of our

SD900 trace.

What follows is a summary chart of the altitude and acceleration as determined by

the Featherweight Raven Flight computer. It should be noted, that the altitude shown

should be offset by 800 hundred feet.



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3.4 Altitude and Acceleration Graph



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4.0 Scientific Value This project is a valuable method for getting hands‐on experience in physics,

aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering, and project planning. The Center for Aerospace Education (CAE) will continue its efforts at promulgating interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Several on‐going programs that will benefit from the outcomes of our project are discussed below: 4.1 CanSat: The WCC CanSat program is a project based learning opportunity to instill an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in college students that would otherwise not pursue such endeavors. Students are tasked with designing, building, and the subsequent testing of a fully operational device that will emulate a space probe gathering an array of data. There are strict physical limitations to the design volume of the CanSat, usually confined to fitting inside of a standard 350 ml soda can. Students are usually required to interact with experts in the engineering community, or faculty experts on other campuses of the University of Hawaii system. Since the majority of students attending the satellite Community Colleges are pursuing a liberal arts certificate, the CanSat program is ideally suited to for these students. Aside from acting as a resource, the CAE would like to be able to provide a means of insitu, rigorous, testing of the involved electronics previous to departure for the competition. 4.2 ARLISS: Among the many variants of CanSat is ARLISS (A Rocket Launch for International Students Satellites). ARLISS is hosted by AeroPAC (a recognized high powered rocketry organization) and Prof. Robert Twiggs (recently retired from Stanford University), and takes place in Black Rock Nevada, primarily to foster relations between universities around the Pacific Rim. Students are tasked with designing, building, and testing, an electronics package that emulates a planetary probe. The goals for ARLISS are well defined ‐ the electronic package must, when deployed from a payload bay, autonomously make its way to a GPS target site, all the while gathering external data and transmitting it to a passive ground station. A low‐altitude rocket would provide a marvelous opportunity for the multi‐faceted testing required for a successful endeavor. 4.3 Curriculum Development: Current efforts to develop a rocketry certificate program, requires curriculum development for two courses; Rocket Principles, and Ground Safety Protocols. A re‐usable rocket, launched in conjunction with the above two projects, utilizing students from the two classes, provides a hands-on situation that can only be beneficial to the learning environment. By having one to two launches a semester, students can come away with a greater understanding of the rocketry principles involved, and the safety procedures followed. 4.4 High School Science Fair: Preliminary data collected by the CAE indicates that there is a wide interest in student lead research involving rocketry. By soliciting proposals from High Schools that have flight ready projects, the CAE could host launches involving the students in the Rocketry certificate program. Interested High Schools would submit a proposal to the CAE for a flight request. The accepted High Schools would then submit a Preliminary Design Review, a Critical Design Review, followed by a Flight Readiness



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Review prior to the project being flown. These would be reviewed, and commented upon, by the students in the Safety Protocols class. Any recommendations would be conveyed back to the particular High School. At the time of launch, interested High School classes would be invited to observe the launch, with the on‐board payload carrier electronics performing a ‘voice‐over’ of what the rocket is doing at all phases of is flight profile. 4.5 Walter: One of our two payloads consisted of three mutually perpendicular coils wrapped around a nonmagnetic sphere – a whiffle ball, affectionately called Walter. Each coil is in parallel with a resistor. Voltages read across the resistors were then input into an Analog‐to‐Digital Converter (ADC) boosted by an operational amp. Those values were to be stored to a Micro SD card. Data from the on board accelerometers were to be used to make a comparative study. We expected very small values of the induced voltage, which lead to our choice of ADC and operational amp. Future studies should compare our results with a payload designed to measure the Hall effect – to determine whether the induced voltages are within the same orders of magnitude. It is possible that this may be an easier way of determining rocket orientation.

As to our payload results; what little data we have obtained from testing has indicated that it is possible to determine the rocket orientation, at any given instant in its flight path, by studying the induced voltage produced by the interaction of the Earth’s magnetic field and three mutually perpendicular coils. The Faraday law of Electromagnetic Induction predicted that this should be so, and our experiment was to test this. We believe that there are several applications possible; one of them being that integrating this unit into a passive feedback network, a rocket stability system could be implemented. 4.6 AStRID: Our second payload AStRID (Arduino ScienTific Research Interactive Device) fulfilled the option two Science Mission Directorate payload. AStRID was designed to collect the altitude, humidity, pressure, ultraviolet light, visible light, and temperature. AStRID was also designed to take 5 orientated pictures: three on decent and two once the rocket landed. AStRID marks our change to Arduino programming boards and language, which is a widely accepted form. It has allowed students to become more familiarized with the testing and integration of these units. The AStRID data will be used to compare with the data collected from Walter. Because the components of this payload are very useful, we plan to keep the printed circuit board we made for this task for future projects.

5.0 Summary of Overall Experience & Lessons Learned 5.1 Students Patrick Lancaster

USLI has been a changeling and exciting experience. Through it we have learned many skills that will have practical applications to future employers. Because of USLI we have grown to become more responsible individuals that have better understandings of the STEM fields, and also of the challenges that are inherent to them. This year our team had to take on many obstacles, and in the end I feel that we did over come most of them.



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Unfortunately not everything went exactly as planned, but we still enjoyed the experience and are grateful for the opportunity. This project has definitely helped me take steps towards my goals and life’s aspirations. Todd Esposito As lead construction for our team’s rocket, it was an interesting and rewarding experience. Learning to work with new materials was a challenging endeavor. How to design and integrate the parts of the rocket and actually fly the vehicle was an important achievement to our team. Learning and implementing how to launch the rocket safely in our restricted area of operations was a daunting task, but one we were able to achieve with great success!!! It was interesting and very challenging at times to be a mentor to a new student who will be taken over as construction for our rocket, but it has taught me to be a better team player. I have great confidence in the future of this team. Although this is my last year on the team, I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this great team and wish them wonderful success in the future. Rosemary Wailehua

As a first year participant in the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) of 2012, I feel lucky to have experienced many different things, from moments of high stress to pure joy and excitement.

I participated in the development of the payload AStRID. Participating in the

payload was a tricky thing, there were times where things went perfect, and then there were times when there were some unexplained mysteries on why things don’t work. Integrating all of AStRIDs components to do exactly what you want them to do at that exact moment was by far the biggest challenge. However, once we got it working it was amazing to see, that the code on the serial monitor was doing everything according to plan. On launch day, making sure that AStRID ended up in the rocket was another story. I’m not quite sure what happened, or where we went wrong in the measurements of AStRID in the rocket, but unfortunately we were not able to fly it as our payload in Leo Hano. Although AStRID never flew in Leo Hano it flew beautifully, the event happened as planned, and the main deployed, but detached then floated away… This added a little extra stress, but the bigger mystery we have to solve was why our new tether attached to our main snapped.

All in all my experience of USLI was great. No, things didn’t work out as planned, but

I believe that it’s all part of the experience. The trip to Huntsville was long, but well worth it. I saw some really cool things, and learned a lot from the people at NASA. The rocket fair was also an amazing experience, while we showed off our school/team spirit, winning us an award; I spent lots of time walking around and learning from other teams, which just generated many ideas in my head for next year’s competition. Just participating was an honor, and I am very thankful to the University of Hawaii CAE, NASA, ATK, and the many mentors that helped us along the way for giving us this opportunity.



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Lyra Hancock To be honest, I was a bit intimidated going into this program. I had never worked on

anything rocket related let alone electrical engineering. I'm glad to say I was able to learn a lot from this program. I learned more about programming thanks to Dr. Greg Witteman and working on AStRID, one of our two payloads. Dr. Jacob Hudson was able to educate me more on rocketry and physics. My team mates were more than understanding and patient when either of us didn't understand something. Besides the scientific aspects, I was able to experience working, supporting, and traveling with others. I also got a first-hand experience of participating in a NASA contracted project. I was especially excited to launch our rocket at Alabama because we worked so hard to put all the components together. I am extremely appreciative for this opportunity, and I will use what I've learned for my future endeavors. Jasmine Maru

My experience with the Student Launch Projects in Huntsville was a success. The whole entire process was intense, but defiantly worth it. Being able to make the deadlines, and make important decisions really helped team Hawaii bond. I really appreciated that Marshall's allowed the student to visit a variety of different facilities that they have. I also enjoyed how each part of the tour there was a Marshal employee to discuss what was taking place. The staff was very helpful and answered all of my questions and concerns that I had. My favorite part of the tour is when Marshals gave a presentation on what the future holds at NASA. Overall The SLP was a great turnout this year. Sean Aylward

I have been incredibly blessed to be a part of our USLI team here at Windward Community College. I have been places and done things I never could have imagined in the last year. I joined the team in May of 2011 and I started with absolutely no experience in math or science, but with a basic bit of handyman skills, and a passion for aerospace technologies. Our mentor, Dr. Jacob Hudson, while taking his ASTR 281 Space Explorations class, brought me into the team. His class taught me an astronomical amount about the history of rocketry and the elementary basics of rocketry and why what we’ve built together works.

USLI was my second trip off island with the team in the past year, with our first one

coming in early September to ARLISS in Black Rock, Nevada. I went into that trip awestruck by the scale and power of High-Powered rocketry and uneducated, but willing to soak in knowledge like a sponge. We had two Full-Scale Full Powered test flights of our USLI design as well as 2 ARLISS flights. These four flights gave me valuable hands-on experience with our rocket and our general project concept. Also while on that trip I was able to obtain my Level 1 certification through the Tripoli Rocketry Association, and passed my Level 2 exam. My Level 2 flight introduced me to the hardships of High-Powered rocketry. That flight was unsuccessful due to a broken shock cord, but the rocket was recovered without taking any damage, and I am 100% confident I will have my Level 2 certification after this coming



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summer. The invaluable experience gained on our ARLISS trip gave me both the knowledge and the confidence to undertake the USLI project.

Not to undermine the educational aspects of my time on the USLI project this year.

For all the hands-on experience I gained with flights at ARLISS, I learned ten times as much in preparation for USLI. I personally have always had a fear of public speaking, and I was immediately confronted with that at our Preliminary Design Review. I immersed myself into our project and overcame my fear by becoming familiar with the project top to bottom. This has helped me immeasurably, not only in regards to presenting the information about our project to our design review board, but also in my everyday life. I can comfortably breakdown every aspect of what we do and can freely speak about it in front of strangers. (Something I noticed at the Rocket Fair at the Marshall Space Flight Center.)

I came into our team as a junior member with the task of apprenticing under Todd,

another team member, with Part Fabrication and Rocket Assembly. Due to scheduling conflicts he was forced to take a lesser role in the teams operations sooner than expected and I was thrust into a leadership role as far as that component of the team is considered. It was something I was not expecting, and wholly unprepared for. I have always considered myself more of a follower than a leader, but it was necessary that I do what needed to be done and I was able to do everything that was asked of me.

Introspectively I have learned leaps and bounds about myself, as both a leader and a friend, and this experience will forever shape who I am. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to expand my horizons and I can’t wait to see what is bound to happen ahead of me in this life. Thanks to all who have made this possible and I hope we, as a team, continue to learn, and improve in all aspects of our lives. Darren Ramos

The 2012 USLI experience has been a very fun and rewarding one. Eight months I knew nothing about rockets and when I was asked by my advisor if I wanted to join the team I was hesitant at first. I thought about it and thought it would be good to try it out. My original idea of what the team does was build a little model rocket and fly it a couple hundred feet in the air. Man was I wrong. After going through PDR, CDR, and FRR, I now know how much work you have to put in just for the one launch your rocket is going to have at USLI in Alabama. Let me just say it was worth it. The trip to Huntsville was worth the work because you learn so much in the few days you’re there. From the tours to the rocket fair, you’re immersed in the aeronautical field. It’s good to see that despite major budget cuts that NASA is still planning some projects. I thought the rocket fair though, is where I gained the most knowledge. Walking around and seeing other student’s projects, talking to them about it. You see a lot of great ideas that people try out. Like teacher’s say in the classroom, “You can only learn so much from a teacher, but you will learn the most amongst your peers.” Although things didn’t pan out on launch day like we’d hoped, winning the team spirit award as voted by all the teams was something nice to bring back home to Hawai’i.



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Kristi Ross I have to admit that this year has been a challenge. I thought that because this was my second year with USLI, I had a good idea of what to expect. Things went a little differently than I had expected. This experience has been a perfect example of how life is. There are continual set-backs and challenges to overcome, as well as decisions regarding the best path to proceed. I am grateful for the learning experience and now know that I should enter a project without previous expectations because in projects, and life, the unexpected always happens.

I must also express that my teammates this year have been wonderful. There are of course times when we don’t agree, but I feel things have been worked out in a professional and respectful manner. I feel like the additions to the team this year were needed. Unfortunately, we have to classify this year’s project as a failure, I don’t see it that way. We have been successful, even if the success was only in life experience and maturity. I look forward to the challenges to come from next year’s project and am thankful to all the organizations and people that allow me to participate in NASA’s USLI. 5.2 Team Official Dr. Jacob Hudson

You know, you gotta love rocket science. I can think of nothing else that will cause you to run the spectrum of emotions, from elation to despair, in as short a time as possible. A perfect example of this was our USLI launch.

After 8 months of designing, building, testing, writing and presenting, it is time to

launch. We get the rocket, and the team, to Huntsville - a logistical horror in and of itself. Two days before launch, we had to go through a hardware inspection where they disassemble the rocket, check for anything that could be questionable, and then clear it for launch. Well, two of our 20 foot, 4 ton tethers were showing some wear, and concern was raised about their integrity. It was suggested that we replace the tethers, which we did.

The launch was beautiful, a little arcing into the wind, but basically straight up.

Apogee was reached at 4894 feet, which is not bad for the amount of wind they were having. The on-board avionics then deployed the 4 foot drogue which slowed the rocket descent speed down to ~75 ft/s. At 2500 ft, the 12 foot main chute was deployed, slowly unfurled to its full extent, and slowed the rocket down to ~18 ft/s - for half a second. Then the newly replaced tether snapped, and the rocket resumed its descent under drogue! From excitement, to apprehension, to elation, despair, and then relief, all in under two minutes. The relief came about because the rocket was undamaged, all fingers and toes stayed attached to their respective owners, and my team is more fired up about rocket science than ever. I guess this is a good thing.

That being said, I think the problem that bothers me most, what I reflect on the

most, is not on what happened but who it happens to. These kinds of things happen in



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rocket science, and to a certain extent are expected. The part that is hard to swallow is that this always seems to happen to us! Oh well…next year! 5.3 Students Continuing On

Kristi Ross Rose Wailehua Lyra Hancock Sean Aylward

6.0 Educational Engagement Summary

The USLI team at Windward Community College devoted many successful hours

into building stronger community ties, which has now enabled our outreach program to

include outer‐island advertising, more school projects and a competition that will advance

a Hawaii team to SLI.

The facilities at Windward Community College include the Center for Aerospace

Education Labs which consists of the hands-on lab, geared towards elementary students,

and the flight lab for a more mature audience. Additionally, we have an Imaginarium which

offers multiple shows with rocketry and space exploration topics. The last facility is

Lanihuli Observatory which includes a magic planet spherical projector, a 16inch telescope,

a Quark Net Muon Telescope, and the NOAH weather information station. With all of these

facilities at our disposal we are able to provide STEM stimulus across the entire age

spectrum.

The state of Hawaii is unique not only because it has 2400 miles of ocean separating

it from the Continental United States, but also the state itself is divided into eight islands

making events on one island difficult for the residents of another island to attend.

Therefore, we are confident that once our plan to become televised on the local news, and

the locally broadcasted Hawaii Public Radio (NPR), we will close the inter-island

communication gap. This approach will be the catalyst to get our message into households

and businesses alike throughout the state.

One outreach project that has been in effect, and will continue to be utilized, is a

model rocket launch we hold every month. On the third Saturday of every month we launch

model rockets for research purposes. This launch is open to the public and is also used for

community engagement. These launches have been very successful in reaching people. We

have a few regulars that show up consistently. We have afforded an opportunity for teams

to utilize this time to launch in preparation for the Team America Rocket Challenge.

We have also brought awareness to our local community by participating in the

Kaneohe Christmas Parade, where we displayed our rocket along with banners that



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represented WCC, CAE, and USLI. Also, on February 11th the USLI team participated in

hosting the Physics Olympiad. This event, targeted middle scholars’, where water-bottle

rocket launches helped raise awareness and interest in the STEM fields. On March 10th we

were invited to be guests on a local NPR station. We were interviewed on Sound Bytes, a

science and technology based radio show. The topic of discussion was the USLI competition

and WCC’s involvement with it. We were invited to the show by catching the show’s host’s

attention through a team flyer he had gotten a hold of. Also, still in the works is a possible

event with the Boy Scouts. This is still in its early stages and no specifics are available at

this time, other than it would be an event to raise interest in the STEM felids and rocketry.

The team also hosted various educational engagement events at WCC’s Center for

Aerospace Education and the Aerospace Education Lab. These events consisted of dozens

of middle schoolers who went to multiple stations to learn about rockets, flight, low gravity

environments, and other Aerospace related topics. We lead the students through

experiments using the CAE’s drop tower. We use a high speed camera to show how objects

react in microgravity environments. We also allow the students to fly simulated space

shuttle landings, using our dome 3D flight simulator. These are just a few examples of the

things we exhibit to the students in sharing our love of rocketry. Overall it has been a great

experience and demonstrated the joys and excitements of the STEM fields.

During the course of this year we have had a success with Education Outreach, as

our main goals were to inspire, engage, and educate our community about STEM projects

and programs. In addition to, sparking the student’s interest in STEM through several

hands on workshops, building small rockets, and learning rocketry terminology; we

successfully had a segment on Hawaii’s Public Radio, which airs across the state. This type

of publicity is crucial for us since our state is comprised of islands with no inexpensive

means to reach the outer islands. This segment has bridged gaps we never thought

possible. Fortunately, it doesn’t stop there. We are already planning a segment to

incorporate more in-depth aspects of what we as a team and as a school have to offer.

Windward Community College is fortunate to host one of 42 Aerospace Education Labs

(AEL) in the country, right here on the island of Oahu. With this multifaceted approach, all

educational outreach goals were fulfilled. Windward Community College, a University of

Hawaii satellite campus, and the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, will be essential to all

the launches that take place on Oahu. The Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai has also

been a host to community events in the past, and has expressed a willingness to continue

this collaborative effort. Support for our educational endeavors are being sought on the

islands of Maui and Hawaii (The Big Island).



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7.0 Budget Summary: 7.1.1 Rocket Cost Item Price Each Quantity Total Cost

Body Tube (FT‐6.0) $45.32 10ft $453.20

Nosecone (FNC‐6.0 30.5” ogive) $89.95 1 $89.95

Coupler (CT‐6.0, 16” length) $68.00 2 $136.00

Aluminum Fins/Can assembly $80.00 1 $80.00

Centering Rings (FCR‐6.0‐3.9) $16.00 2 $32.00

Bulkheads (CBP‐6.0) $5.93 2 $11.86

Motor Tube (FTEX2‐3.91, 36”) $58.92 1 $58.92

Drogue Chute (32”) $35.00 1 $35.00

Main Chute (108”) $95.00 1 $95.00

Shock Cord (1” thick) $1.00/ft 20ft/2 $20.00

Kevlar Patch (9”) $14.00 1 $14.00

Kevlar Patch (16”) $19.00 1 $19.00

Aero‐Pack 98 mm Motor retainer $64.00 1 $64.00

Aero‐Pack 98‐75 mm motor adapter $45.00 1 $45.00

Motor L1500T $280.00 1 $280.00

Motor Shipping $22.00 1 $22.00

Subtotal: $1,455.93

7.1.2 Avionics/Electronics Cost Item Price Each Quantity Total Cost

PerfectFlight MiniAlt/WD $99.95 1 $99.95

Featherweight Raven‐2 $155.00 1 $155.00

GPSFlight (ST900e) $695.00 1 $695.00

GPS‐P25 (Patch antenna) $30.00 1 $30.00

RPSMA900 (trans. antenna) $18.00 1 $18.00

Li‐Po Battery Pack $150.00 1 $150.00

9V Dry Cell $2.99 4 $11.96

Subtotal: $1,159.91



19

7.2 Payload Cost 7.2.1 AStRID Item Price Each Quantity Total Cost

Accelerometer – MMA7260 $20.00 1 $20.00

Arduino Nano $35.00 1 $35.00

Camera – TTL Serial JPEG $42.00 1 $42.00

Circuit Board $25.00 1 $25.00

Coin Cells – CR2032 $1.90 2 $3.80

G10 Fiberglass $7.89 3.91x4in $7.89

Humidity – DHT11 $5.00 1 $5.00

Light – TSL2561 $12.50 2 $25.00

Micro Read Relay $4.50 1 $4.50

Micro SD Breakout Board $15.00 1 $15.00

Micro SD Card $2.00 1 $2.00

Minty Boost $19.95 1 $19.95

Pressure – BMP085 $19.88 1 $19.88

Real Time Clock $9.00 1 $9.00

Various Wires, Resistors, Batteries, Sockets $3.00 $3.00

X-Bee Adapter $10.00 2 $20.00

X-Bee XSC 900 $71.00 2 $142.00

Hampster Ball $5.99 1 $5.99

Subtotal: $347.01

7.2.2 Walter Item Price Each Quantity Total Cost

Accelerometer – MMA7260 $20.00 1 $20.00

Arduino Nano $35.00 1 $35.00

Circuit Board $25.00 1 $25.00

Micro SD Breakout Board $15.00 1 $15.00

Micro SD Card $2.00 1 $2.00

Minty Boost $19.95 1 $19.95

Real Time Clock $9.00 1 $9.00

Various Wires, Resistors, Batteries, Sockets $3.00 $3.00

Whiffle Ball $5.00 1 $5.00

Operation Amps $15.00 3 $45.00

Subtotal: $178.95

7.3 Total Cost

Budget Total

Rocket Body/Construction $1,455.93

Rocket Avionics/Electronics $1,159.91

AStRID Payload $347.01

Walter Payload $178.95

Total: $3,141.80



20

7.4 Travel Cost Quantity Total Cost

Airfare 7 $6,524.00

Item Price Per Day Quantity Total Cost

Van Rental: (15 Passenger van) National – Huntsville International Airport Huntsville Alabama

$160.00 1 van 5 days $800.00

Rooms: Holiday Inn Downtown (USLI Special) 401 Williams Avenue SW Huntsville AL 35801 (256) 533‐1400

$89.00 5 nights 4 rooms $1,780

Food - students $25.00 6 days 6 people $900

Food - mentor $45.00 6 1 person $270.00

Total $9,554.00

university of hawai’i windward community college...dr. joseph ciotti (principle investigator) dr....

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